After my conversation with Patrick, I only felt more restless. The helplessness I felt was devouring me slowly from the inside. Patrick told me to believe in the King's strength and the power of the most skillful fighters in the Royal Army, but I saw the fear flashing in his eyes, and it was the same kind of fear I felt. I was aware that Sariel might win against ten, maybe a hundred degenerates, but they were coming in thousands, and the power they possessed together couldn't be underestimated. By the end of the day, it was a matter of tactics, and JD wasn't losing in that department.
Additionally, I kept wondering whether the messages I got from Sariel were truly from him. I knew that I was acting shallow and selfish, thinking about it in this situation, but the "what if" was piercing through my head. What if Sariel didn't want to say goodbye? What if he wasn't Elora's child's father? What if… Elora wasn't pregnant at all?
That last thought appeared in my mind
Every minute of the three-hour ride raised my anxiety. I kept shifting in my seat as if it was the most uncomfortable chair I had ever sat on. Patrick had noticed it a few times, and then gave me a warm, soothing smile, which helped me remain composed… until another wave of restlessness drew air from my lungs, bringing me closer to a choking state.Seeing the road sign informing us that we were 50 miles away from Greystoneville sent chills down my spine. We entered the Southern Woods Pack's territory. The long line of black vans drove through the roadcrossing the vast forest area that surrounded Greystone Mountain, a perfect place for wolves to hunt… or set up their battles while keeping their existence hidden from the human eye.Greystoneville had been built, starting at the foot of the mountain and climbing uphill. The lower parts, further away from the woods, were mostly inhabited by humans and low-ranked wolves. The upper districts belonged to t
I took my phone from the soldier who held it in his hand and called Draven again. This time, I even lost the signal and any possibility to connect. I glanced meaningfully at Patrick. He immediately pulled out his phone and tried calling Draven himself. Like mine, his phone was out of range."Neal." Patrick jerked his chin up at the soldier standing next to me.He grabbed his phone, looked at the screen, and shook his head."Damn it!" Patrick clenched his fist, then slowly scanned the area, processing our situation.He ordered everyone to retreat deeper into the forest, hoping that whatever was jamming our signal was coming from the mansion. Half an hour later, we knew that it wasn't the case. The signal came and went in brief waves, but once any of us broke through with the connection, the other end of the line went dead. Nonetheless, no one but me experienced this odd strike of disturbing sound while trying to make the call. When I brought up that subjec
Draven led me to the top floor of Randall D'Apolito's mansion. As a precaution, six warriors from the Moon Hill Pack followed us. There were no live signs anywhere, but that didn't mean that any corner of this place was safe to walk around. Each floor of the residence was covered in blood. Corpses were lying on the floor, slaughtered and dismembered. The gruesome odor penetrated our nostrils, making it harder to breathe. Who was capable of doing something like that? What kinds of monsters were able to defeat all the best fighters in the pack, literally tearing them apart? Thinking that I could face the ones responsible for this bloodbath scared the hell out of me. Draven held my hand with a strong grip while we were climbing upstairs. I figured that he wanted to give me the courage to face my father, and I was grateful for that. Nonetheless, my greatest concern at that moment didn't involve my father in the slightest. I was terrified of the unknown danger, hoping tha
I collapsed to my knees, staring at my father's dead body lying on his throne. Draven was standing next to me. He leaned down and put his hand on my shoulder."Are you all right?" he asked."I… I don't know…" I muttered, "Are you?"I felt all sorts of emotions, some of which I was unable to name, and I could understand if Draven felt frustrated because, in the end, he couldn't avenge his father with his own hands. When I lifted my eyes to meet his, I saw anger and relief mixed in his expression."Someone must have hated him even more than I did." He stretched his lips into a thin line."Randall D'Apolito ruined a lot of lives. He finally pissed off someone powerful enough to kill him." I shrugged, trying to act as if looking at my father's corpse meant nothing to me."At least he can't hurt you anymore." Draven gave me a warm smile and reached out his hand to help me stand.I took his hand, pushing away my uneasiness and
"Don't listen to him, Lilith!" Draven's voice violently pierced the air between me and Sariel. "He may not write those texts to you, but it doesn't mean he's telling the truth now!"I sighed angrily, hearing his tone, and closed my eyes. One punch he got from Sariel wasn't nearly enough for what he did to me. Nonetheless, he was right. How could I be certain that Sariel wasn't lying to me, just like Draven did?"Look at me, Lilith." Sariel gently lifted my chin. "Look at me and you'll know that I'm not lying."I opened my eyes to meet his beautiful grey pupils, filled with longing and pain. I carefully examined his expression, enjoying the view, I didn't realize I missed so much. The depth of his sight seemed more profound than before. The shield protecting his emotions that I had once seen was gone as if he could no longer hide anything from me. This powerful man looked vulnerable standing before me."I won't ever lie to you. I won't hide anything from y
I was told that Draven should recover in a day. The cut he received from Sariel was quite deep, but it was meant to make him unable to fight, not to kill him in an instant. Of course, it would have been deadly for a regular wolf, but it was way not enough for a strong Alpha whose healing process started immediately after his flesh had been torn.Even defeated, Draven kept his position in the pack. Sariel couldn't care less about becoming the werewolves' leader. Besides, I doubt he ever had their complete loyalty. Certainly, it didn't make Draven's position any less complicated, and I bet his dreams of becoming a king would have to wait for a while. Nonetheless, the Moon Hill Pack deserved to rule over the entire north and south, and that automatically made Draven the leader of the werewolf race.The fact that Alpha Randall D'Apolito had been killed by some unknown creature was hidden from the majority of the packs' members. Only a few knew the truth. Sariel, Leo, Beta
I needed a moment to process Leo's words. I was so preoccupied with everything around that I never asked Leo or Sariel what had happened when they'd lost communication and how they had managed to get to Greystoneville. I looked at Sariel. His eyes were blazing red, and his expression was completely different than when his eyes were on me."How much time do we have before they'll enter the town?" he asked, gritting his teeth.Leo replied immediately, "Three hours tops."Sariel reached for my hand and pulled me to stand close beside him. "Draven should speed up his healing. We'd need all of his dogs ready. Call the meeting in fifteen," he said in a firm tone.Leo nodded and quickly dashed to execute Sariel's order. He watched Leo disappear into the corridor, silently processing the situation before turning my way.He cupped my face in his hands and locked his eyes on me. "I want you to stay out of this fight."I stroked his hands on my face an
Hybrid. This one word bounced inside my mind as I tried to grasp the meaning of it. There was no reliable information about creatures being a mix of werewolf and vampire. According to the legends, there was a tiny possibility of a child of a vampire and a werewolf being born, but no records were found to prove that. To give us any information, Leo read the notes that Doctor Will Duarte provided after examining the body of one of the degenerates.Will found many similarities between them and vampire commoners, which could suggest that the one creating the degenerates had to be a vampire noble or at least have a lot of noble genes. At the same time, their insatiable hunger could only be compared to those who were born to live with a commoner vampire's bite: the vampire degenerates. The hybrid degenerates didn't have fangs but massive jaws with sharp teeth. Their claws also resembled those of wolves rather than blade-like vampire claws. They were all at least 6.7 feet tall, with